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On Friday, Hyundai Motor will stop offering its Assurance program which allowed customers to return newly purchased Hyundai vehicles should they lose their jobs during their first year of ownership.
According to several news reports, Hyundai says it bought back roughly 350 cars from customers under the Assurance program. But fewer buy-backs have been occurring lately—and coupled with a seemingly improving consumer job market—Hyundai decided it was time to end the program.
Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor told USA Today, "It had outlived its usefulness and wasn't drawing people to showrooms."
Introduced in January 2009, Hyundai's Assurance program was a hit with consumers, car-shopping at the height of the economic recession and consumer credit crunch. And it quickly became a trend-setter, sparking other car companies to offer similar enticements. (Consumer Reports Cars experts evaluated the Hyundai Assurance and other programs, such as GM Total Confidence and the Ford Advantage Plan, back in 2009.)
What do you think? Were you enticed by such recession-oriented car programs and bargains? And are you still looking for job-loss protection when car-shopping? Or have such program truly "outlived" their usefulness? Weigh in below and check Consumer Reports Money section online for helpful financial advice.
Hyundai ends buyer job-loss 'Assurance' plan Friday [USA Today]
Hyundai won't buy your car back anymore [CNN Money]
Hyundai Ends Customer Job-Loss Program [Wall St. Journal]
—Paul Eng
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